2007 Leading Actress in a Musical Tony Nominee Contenders

Now that Ms. Chenoweth has joined the mix, we have quite a bunch of leading lady possibilities for this category.

Leading Actress in a Musical Tony Nominee Contenders:

Kristin Chenoweth, THE APPLE TREE
Christine Ebersole, GREY GARDENS
Charlotte D'Amboise, A CHORUS LINE
Laura Bell Bundy, LEGALLY BLONDE
Ashley Brown, MARY POPPINS
Jenn Colella, HIGH FIDELITY
Lea Michele, SPRING AWAKENING
Debra Monk, CURTAINS
Audra McDonald, 110 IN THE SHADE
Stephanie J. Block, THE PIRATE QUEEN
(Daphne Rubin-Vega, LES MISERABLES?)

-Am I leaving anyone out?-

Who do you think will be dissed?

Edited to add: Debra, Audra & Steph (above)

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Updated On: 9/14/06 at 11:49 PM

Debra Monk - CURTAINS

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isn't this a little early to decide... considering the runs haven't even started, for all we know they could bomb and last one week (oh... the little mermaid)

THE LITTLE MERMAID is not opening until at least Fall 2007. It will not be part of this season's Tonys.

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Don't forget Audra McDonald for 110 IN THE SHADE :)

Forgive my ignorance, but wouldn't Daphne Rubin-Vega be featured instead of leading? I mean, Fantine's only in the show for a fraction of the time...

That's a good point. But, still, Fantine is a MUCH smaller role than Eponine. It wouldn't make much sense to have Celia nominated as featured, and Daphne as leading.

Not that the Tonys ever make much sense...

I'd be amazed if Chenoweth isn't nominated for APPLE TREE. Mind you, I'm not a particularly big fan of hers, but her performance in the roles at Encores was quite sensational. The three parts are very different from one another and she nailed them all -- it was a total tour de force. Based on what I saw, I'd say she's a lock for a nomination.

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Kristin Chenoweth, THE APPLE TREE - Nominated
Christine Ebersole, GREY GARDENS - Nominated (AS OF NOW, the likely Winner of the category)
Charlotte D'Amboise, A CHORUS LINE - My guess is a nomination in the FEATURED Actress Category, we'll see, if she goes Leading she'll get nominated in this category.
Laura Bell Bundy, LEGALLY BLONDE - It's possible, considering the whole show will revolve around her, but unlikely in my opinion. Plus when is the actual deadline when when a show has to open to be nominated?
Ashley Brown, MARY POPPINS - NO
Jenn Colella, HIGH FIDELITY - NO
Lea Michele, SPRING AWAKENING - To me, she's the fifth one out, D' Amboise goes Featured, she's in. Charlotte goes Leading she's out.
Debra Monk, CURTAINS - NO
Audra McDonald, 110 IN THE SHADE - Nominated cause the Tonys LOVE Audra.
Stephanie J. Block, THE PIRATE QUEEN - Nominated
Daphne Rubin-Vega, LES MISERABLES - Nomination for FEATURED Actress.

So that's...
Kristin Chenoweth- THE APPLE TREE
Stephanie J. Block- THE PIRATE QUEEN
Christine Ebersole- GREY GARDENS
Audra McDonald- 110 IN THE SHADE
and either Charlotte D'Amboise- A CHORUS LINE unless she's nominated for Featured Actress then...
Lea Michele - SPRING AWAKENING

Obviously again, that's based on pure predictions. Obviously some of these women have performed these roles before off-broadway and some are brand new shows. For those people I think it's harder to predict. For instance many are guessing Stephanie J. Block won't be nominated for Pirate Queen, yet the first preview hasn't even gone up, who's to say she won't give a better performance than all the praise Christine Ebersole has gotten for her previous performed role in Grey Gardens. Unlikely maybe, but time will tell. I do think it's anyone's award to win, but it will surely get more interesting soon when we actually start to see these performances for the first time.

yeah, i want the nominations to be:
Christine Ebersole (I REALLY hope she wins)
Laura Bell Bundy
Kristin Chenoweth
Stephanie J Block
Audra McDonald

and Laura actually doesnt seem too likely (one can always hope), but in place of her, I'd say Ashley Brown

Do you really think that Fantine is a MUCH smaller role than Eponine? I think they are pretty much equal in size and in what each actress has to do (which is basically to garner sympathy, sing prettily and die).

Daphne has two Tony nominations under her belt, Celia has one. I think they both have a shot for Featured Actress nominations.

Charlotte D'Amboise lacks star quality in everything I've seen her do. Undoubtedly, she's talented, but there's just some spark that's lacking. If any performing Tony nominations go to ACL, it'll be Deirdre Goodwin (and Michael Berrese). Just a hunch. Deidre should have been Cassie anyway...

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Updated On: 9/14/06 at 07:37 AM

Colm Wilkinson and Terrence Mann were both nominated for best lead actor in a musical for "Les Miserables," and Frances Ruefelle was up aganist Judy Kuhn for best featured actress. So if Daphne and Celia both get nominated for a Tony for Les Mis, it would not be the first time in the history of the show. If both Daphne and Celia end up being really good in their roles, I think both will be nominated for featured actress, not lead.

I think that Ebersole should have this engraved already, but in the interest of fairplay (and not having seen anyone else yet) here are my predictions:
LOCKS
Ebersole - Grey Gardens (winner)
Chenoweth - Apple Tree (runner up)
McDonald - 110 in the Shade (possible spoiler)

LIKELY
Monk - Curtains (Tony loves her)
Block - Pirate Queen (a possible spoiler if the show is a hit)

POSSIBILITIES
Brown - Mary Poppins (If London is an indication, this will be a Julie Andrews impersonation. Laura's win at the Olivier's was in a weak year.)
Bundy - Legally Blonde (This could be a flop. Too many unknowns here)

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